Angelus

by Sabrina Benulis

  Azrael: name of the Angel of Death who guarded deceased human souls. He was destroyed by Angela Mathers after she entered the Netherworld for the first time.

  Babylon: a dimension of Hell; the city of the demons. Babylon is known for its pyramids, obelisks, and mansions that are home to some of the most powerful demons.

  Binding: name for a contract linking a human soul with a Jinn’s, this contract ends only with the human’s death, usually at the hands of the very same Jinn protecting them.

  Blood head: a derogatory name for any human with red hair, which is thought to be one of the Archon’s distinguishing features; it refers to a prophecy wherein the Archon will “have blood on Her head, and blood on Her hands.”

  Book of Raziel: a mythical book created by the angel Raziel that contains all the secrets of the universe and an immense power. It can only be opened by the Archon with a special Key, which is a weapon the Archon alone can wield correctly called the Glaive; those who try to open the Book otherwise are fated to go insane. Surprisingly, to most, the Book of Raziel’s true form is a doll-like girl named Sophia, and her body is the Lock, or seal, upon the Book; this means that to open the Book, Sophia must be killed by the Glaive.

  Brendan Mathers: Angela’s deceased brother and the witch Stephanie Walsh’s informal boyfriend. He became infatuated with Israfel and treated his sister cruelly. He was killed by the demon Naamah in St. Mary’s Cathedral and now exists as a soul forever in service to Israfel.

  Camdon Willis: Nina’s half-brother; he showed a strange interest in Angela, but later revealed himself as a servant of the demon Python, working to deliver both Angela and Sophia into Python’s power in exchange for resurrecting Nina from the dead. Camdon is killed by Python after outliving his usefulness and his soul then becomes Lilith’s property.

  Catacombs: a series of canals in the lowest levels of Luz leading to a hidden network of caverns stockpiled with human bones and skeletons.

  Celestial Revolution: Lucifel’s failed rebellion against Heaven, also known as “the War”; the end result of which was that a third of the angels followed her to Hell to start their own regime and imprisoned her. It is commonly believed that Lucifel instigated this war because she wished to be ruler of Heaven instead of Israfel.

  Cherubim: an order of angels that guards the highest dimension of Heaven, although many escaped into the lower dimensions when given the opportunity. The Cherubim are the Throne angels’ original form and they have an animalistic appearance that resembles a winged sphinx; their fallen counterparts are the Hounds in Hell. Cherubim have the ability to eat time and can devour a person’s remaining lifespan.

  Chick: term for a young angel, demon, or Jinn.

  Clan: in the realm of the Jinn there are six tribes, or clans; the Sixth Clan was the most powerful until an insurrection in its ranks led to the death of the Jinn Queen Hecate and forced Troy, who is the High Assassin of the Clans, and her niece, Juno, to become fugitives. The Sixth Clan’s symbol is a crow’s foot.

  Covenant: refers to Raziel’s ancient promises to the Jinn that he would free them someday from their harsh existence; the Archon has long been expected by the Jinn to fulfill this promise. Lucifel also used this term to describe the strong and indefinable bond between Angela and Sophia.

  Crow: derogatory term for an angel, demon, or Jinn, often used among their kind as an insult; many Jinn familiars take the shape of a black crow.

  Dead Tunnels: a feared part of Babylon that acts as a direct route to Lucifel’s Altar; here, hundreds of angels, demons, and other creatures have been melded into the stone walls in a state of suspended animation.

  Demon: intelligent beings that reside in the lower dimensions of the universe known as Hell. Beautiful and powerful, they are either former angels or direct descendants of those who have fallen and share many characteristics with angels, though they often wear tattoos signifying their rank, and their wings are in varying states of decay from Hell’s acidic mists. Most demons worship Lucifel, but there are some who wish the Archon to rule in her place.

  Devil: the formal name for Lucifel among most humans; in its plural form it refers to the Jinn.

  Dominions: the angelic term for the dimensions that make up the universe.

  Emerald House: formerly the home of the cult headed by Stephanie Walsh called the Pentacle Sorority, it has now been renamed by Angela Mathers; it is named after Lucifel’s Grail, which resembles an emerald in color, and its symbol is a green eye.

  Ether: the substance that composes much of the universe, it can be manipulated by angels and demons to perform feats of telekinesis; it is believed that angels and demons use etheric currents to fly, even without the use of their wings.

  Exorcism: a method that can be used to injure or banish an angel, a demon, or a Jinn to another dimension; very powerful exorcisms can kill creatures like Jinn or their familiars.

  Eye: another name for Lucifel’s Grail, as it resembles a large emerald eye and sometimes even blinks or weeps; it looks remarkably like the eyes of the Father.

  Fae: former angels who left Heaven to dwell on Earth and live in symbiosis with host plants; most Fae are believed to be extinct. Tileaf, a Fae dwelling in an ancient oak tree, had been abused by Luz’s Vatican officials for her powers; she managed to show Angela Mathers part of Raziel’s mysterious past before dying. A portal to Hell could be found beneath her tree and is occasionally opened by creatures moving between the Underworld and Earth.

  Father: the angelic name for God; Angela strongly suspects that Raziel did not commit suicide out of despair, but that the Father—a powerful being with qualities much like the Supernals—murdered him deliberately.

  Feathered serpent: intelligent, serpentine dragons with feathered plumes crowning their heads, they live in the high dimensions of Heaven. The most infamous of these creatures sided with Lucifel during the Celestial Revolution and became the demon Leviathan.

  Fury: Troy’s familiar in the body of a crow; she was once a human girl, but remembers little of her previous life.

  Glaive: Lucifel’s fabled weapon used in the Celestial Revolution; it is a pole arm made entirely of crystallized blue blood with a sharp blade at its tip; the Glaive is the mysterious Key that opens the Book of Raziel by destroying it.

  Gloriana Cassel: a blood head fortune-teller who makes her home in Luz; she practices in secret, as her profession is outlawed by the Vatican; she owns a mirror claimed to have mysterious powers. Gloriana and her daughter saved Israfel’s life when he found himself trapped on Earth.

  Grail: see Lucifel’s Grail.

  Grand Mansion: the building in Luz where some of Westwood Academy’s most formal affairs are celebrated; enormous angel statues line the steps to its entrance.

  Half-breed: derogatory name for half-human, half-Jinn offspring; most are killed at birth. Kim (Sariel) is the only one known to exist at the present time.

  Heaven: the highest dimensions of the universe; home of the angels.

  Hecate: the deceased Jinn Queen and Troy’s sister; she believed in the Archon and was murdered by rival Jinn, who feared she had become delusional in her hopes to rule. Juno is her only surviving child.

  Hell: the lowest dimensions of the universe; home of the Jinn and demons; its uppermost levels are known as the Underworld.

  High Assassin: Jinn term for their most illustrious and deadly hunter, second only to their Queen in respect; Troy is the current High Assassin and is a legend throughout Hell for her lethal skills.

  Hounds: voracious predators of Hell that share characteristics with sphinxes; they are thought to be fallen Cherubim and are one of the only creatures Jinn fear.

  Ialdaboth: the highest dimension of Heaven, accessible only to the ruling Archangel by a spiraling bridge. Ialdaboth was the first Realm to be inhabited by the angels but has been abandoned for millennia. Israfel was imprisoned here against his will by the Father.

  Israfel: the Creator Supernal and Heaven’s first ruling Archangel, legendar
y for his beauty and charisma. His once-defining bronze-colored hair and wings have since bleached to a shocking white; he disappeared into Ialdaboth at the end of the Celestial Revolution and had been presumed dead for ages. Angela Mathers was infatuated with Israfel but found him shockingly changed from the person he used to be; he has been slowly dying since Lucifel infected him with her shadow during the Celestial Revolution.

  Luz Institution: a mental asylum in Luz; it is a forbidding medieval-looking tower perched on a sea cliff; Stephanie Walsh was sequestered behind its walls after she went insane; later, it was used as the base of operations for Lucifel’s bloodletters.

  Jinn: intelligent beings who live in the dimensions of Hell known collectively as the Underworld. With a society structured into six ruling Clans, they are descendants of angelic offspring judged to be imperfect and thrown into Hell to fend for themselves or die. Beautiful but savage, they are known by humans as devils. Out of all the angelic races, they have had the most contact with humans.

  Juno: the only surviving heir to the Jinn throne, she is Hecate’s daughter and Troy’s niece.

  Key: the object that can open the Lock sealing Raziel’s Book; its identity and whereabouts were initially a mystery; it has since been revealed as the Glaive.

  Kheshmar: a Cherubim living in the catacombs beneath Luz; she is Azrael’s female twin but unlike him was never given a new and more human-looking body.

  Kim: a half-Jinn who pretended to be a novice in Luz to get close to the Archon (Angela Mathers); his Jinn cousin Troy is hunting him out of revenge for killing her uncle, who was Kim’s father. He is also known by the Jinn name of Sariel, given to him by his father. After killing his father, Kim was protected and raised by the demon Mastema, who hoped to use him in the future to free Lucifel from her chains, which could not be unlocked by any other human, angel, or demon of pure blood.

  Kirin: creatures of Hell that vaguely resemble horses but have sharp horns, paws, and bioluminescent eyes and markings on their bodies. They are often hunted by the Jinn and their horns are used in Jinn headdresses. The winged males of the species are exceedingly rare.

  Lilith: the most powerful female demon in Hell after Lucifel; Python’s mother, whom she created with the feathered serpent Leviathan.

  Lock: the seal on the Book of Raziel; it can only be opened by the Archon. Though the Key’s whereabouts were initially a mystery, the Lock has since been revealed to be Sophia’s physical body; it is unsealed by cutting into her lethally with the Glaive, which acts as the Key.

  Lucifel: the Destroyer Supernal responsible for the Celestial Revolution at the dawn of time, Lucifel fled to Hell with the demons but ruled her regime as a god imprisoned by her own worshippers. Her ultimate goal is to use Raziel’s Book to silence the universe, but why she wishes to do so remains a mystery; most believe she has gone insane from her long imprisonment. Lucifel sent her shadow to confront Angela Mathers in Luz, but Angela destroyed it, weakening her. Lucifel has the ability to drain a person’s energy or kill them with a touch. She has recently been freed from her imprisonment in Hell by Kim, leaving Angela trapped in her place and forced to reign as the new Prince of Hell.

  Lucifel’s Grail: a mysterious eye-like pendant in the possession of the Jinn, first embedded in the hand, and now in the left eye of Angela Mathers; it was initially worn by Lucifel and has fearsome powers; most who look into its depths go mad. Its origins are a complete mystery; the Grail must bleed for the Glaive to be formed.

  Luz: an island city off the American continent, officially under the jurisdiction of the Vatican. Luz’s most well-known feature is Westwood Academy, the school that has become a haven for gifted students as well as blood heads; it has been besieged by increasingly foul weather for at least one hundred years. Technology and the occult are outlawed in Luz. Angela Mathers has learned that Luz is the connecting point between Earth and the other dimensions and is thus a portal for the supernatural.

  Malakhim: a dimension of Heaven and the city of the angels. Malakhim is incredibly large and revolves in space in the shape of a galaxy-like disc.

  Mastema: the most powerful male demon in Hell, and Archdemon under Lucifel. Kim’s foster father, he wanted Kim to destroy the Archon when She appeared. He is now suspended in eternal punishment in the Dead Tunnels of Babylon.

  Memorial Cemetery: a large grove near Luz’s western coast that was once a park. It was originally famous for the enormous oak tree at its center—Tileaf’s tree—but is now a graveyard dedicated to those who died in one of Luz’s greatest storms.

  Mikel: a female angel who claims to be Lucifel and Raziel’s daughter and sister to Archangel Zion, she has been presumed dead for millennia. Mikel is a spirit and has no real body, so she must possess a host in order to communicate. She was responsible for letting the demons know the Archon existed, effectively setting events in motion. Mikel possessed Nina Willis after Angela accidentally summoned her to Earth; Angela then brought her to Tileaf. Once Angela’s ally, Mikel’s true allegiances are now shrouded in suspicion; she harbors an immense grudge against Israfel and her brother Zion for imprisoning her in Heaven, and has more than once expressed a desire to die by Lucifel’s hand.

  Naamah: demon and foster mother of Stephanie Walsh, now deceased.

  Netherworld: a dark and forgotten dimension where human souls used to gather after death, it was emptied by Angela Mathers, and the souls within, who claimed allegiance to the Archon and went to a higher dimension to await her rise to power.

  Nexus: the highest existing dimension, known to be the dwelling place of God and where all souls, whether human or angelic, must eventually return after death.

  Nina Willis: human girl who, during her mortal life, was ostracized by others for her psychic abilities. Nina developed a friendship with Angela, but unintentionally became possessed by Mikel in a séance gone wrong; she was murdered by Naamah shortly afterward and allowed herself to descend to Hell in exchange for Angela’s freedom. A year later, Nina was resurrected by Python in a deal made with her half-brother Camdon Willis, but ended up dying again trying to save Troy and Juno from a possessed Stephanie Walsh. Nina is now a Vapor in the shape of a crow, with the unique ability to shape-shift back to her human form at will.

  Python: one of the most feared demons in Hell; the son of Lilith and Leviathan, he can take on the form of a feathered serpent like his father. Python eventually lured Angela into his deadly maze in Hell, hoping to use her to confront Lucifel and claim Lucifel’s empty Throne for himself. He is known to be capricious and cruel.

  Raziel: the Preserver Supernal and creator of the Book of Raziel (Sophia); well known for his wisdom and gentle disposition; he was thought to have committed suicide after his lover Lucifel failed in her rebellion against Heaven. He is believed to be the Archon’s guardian spirit, and his presence near her soul has given her his distinctive red hair and blue eyes; recently, it has been strongly implied that Raziel did not commit suicide but was murdered by the Father.

  Ruin: the most common term for the dark messiah known more secretly as the Archon; many prophecies predict the Archon will choose the side of evil and destroy humanity. Angela seemingly fulfills this prophecy when she is forced to reign as the new Prince of Hell in Lucifel’s stead.

  Sariel: Kim’s Jinn name, given to him by his deceased Jinn father; Troy always refers to him by this name.

  Sophia: the human form of the Book of Raziel; though commonly regarded by others as a “thing,” Sophia has a strong personality that belies her delicate appearance. She told Angela Mathers that her body was created as a Revenant, with the ability to be destroyed and resurrected by Lucifel as long as Sophia is in her power. She said she originally died in childbirth, which Angela suspects is a lie.

  St. Matthias Church: an old church in Luz no longer in use; it is the place where Angela and Israfel first met.

  St. Mary’s Cathedral: an enormous church in Luz that has been the scene of numerous supernatural occurrences. The demon Naama
h murdered many people behind its walls, though the Archon is solely to blame in the memories of most citizens in Luz.

  Stephanie Walsh: a blood head witch who was once imprisoned in Luz’s sanatorium, the institution; at one time, she was suspected of being the Archon. She is the demon Naamah’s adopted daughter and is indirectly responsible for Brendan Mathers’s death, as well as the deaths of many other individuals in Luz. Stephanie went insane after Lucifel possessed her, forcing her to try to open Sophia against her will. She was in love with Kim (Sariel).

  Supernals: the highest-ranking angels of all, they are three siblings, Israfel, Raziel, and Lucifel, known collectively as the Angelic Trinity. Unlike most angels, the Supernals have six wings, but they rarely reveal them all; they are immortal and have immense power. The Father claims to be responsible for their creation, although Lucifel has long suspected this is not the case.

  Theban: the demonic tongue; in its written form it resembles a scripting of curves and sharp lines.

  Thrones: the angelic rank acting as bodyguards for higher-ranking angels; most Thrones have a deformity of one kind or another. They are direct but artificial derivatives of the sphinxlike Cherubim.

  Tongue of Souls: otherwise known as Latin, it has the power to harm or bind angels, demons, and Jinn.

  Troy: the greatest Jinn city in the Underworld, destroyed millennia ago by an alliance Python formed between the angels and demons; it is often used among the Jinn as a given name and is the name of the current High Assassin of the Jinn.

  Underworld: name for the dimensions in Hell that are home to the Jinn.

  Vapor: the term for a Jinn familiar; they are a human soul within an animal body, usually that of a crow, cat, or dog; Vapors communicate with their masters through telepathy.

  Vermillion Order: a coalition of blood head students at Westwood Academy who have segregated themselves from the remaining student population.